An $840,000 markup over five years of ownership doesn't exactly scream windfall—but that's precisely the point with Kalorama real estate. You're not buying into appreciation here; you're buying a house a banker built for himself to live in.
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes and his partner, political activist Sean Eldridge, have officially sold their Romanesque Revival mansion in Washington, DC's Kalorama neighborhood for $8.59 million. The property was relisted in February 2026 at $8.75 million and closed earlier this month at $8.59 million—about $840,000 more than what the couple paid when they bought it in spring 2021. The sellers were represented by Marin Hagen and Sylvia Bergstrom of Coldwell Banker Realty, while the buyers worked with Michael Rankin of TTR Sotheby's International Realty.
Built in the early 1900s for the president of Lincoln National Bank, the brick residence sits on just under a quarter-acre in Kalorama, one of DC's premier high-end neighborhoods. The roughly 8,800-square-foot layout includes six bedrooms and eight bathrooms across four floors connected by a skylit staircase, plus an elevator. Original hardwood floors, 11-foot ceilings, restored pocket doors, and ornate molding round out the kind of turn-of-the-century detailing you'd expect in a mansion like this.
The main level flows from the entry foyer through a formal living room and dining room, connecting to a family room with a fireplace and built-in bookshelves alongside a high-end kitchen. A sun-filled breakfast room opens through French doors to a pavilion outfitted with an outdoor dining area, a grilling station, and a decorative pool. Upstairs, the primary suite also features a fireplace, along with a dressing room with a built-in beverage bar and a marble bathroom. The lower level houses a media room, gym, wine cellar, and an in-law suite with its own separate entrance, leading out to a two-car garage.
A Harvard graduate, Hughes co-founded Facebook alongside Mark Zuckerberg, serving as spokesperson and head of product management before leaving the company in 2007 to join Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, where he led digital strategy. He later owned and published The New Republic until 2016. His most recent book is Marketcrafters: The 100-Year Struggle to Shape the American Economy.
This isn't the first time Hughes and Eldridge have moved through the luxury real estate market. The couple previously restored Whippoorwill Farm, a historic 80-acre estate in Garrison, New York, which sold in 2025 for $9.5 million. They've also bought and sold various Manhattan properties, including a SoHo loft and a West Village townhouse.
